


Room for Change

by EightLeggedFox



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Drabble, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 17:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19750885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EightLeggedFox/pseuds/EightLeggedFox
Summary: Things are different now, but maybe a little of it can be for the better.





	Room for Change

Jihoon presses his thumb on the misty, cold glass of the thumbprint scanner, waiting for the little machine to beep and say ‘thank you’ in its little automated, drawling voice. It only takes a second, then he sees his name flashing on the small screen with the timestamp beside it. Half-past seven, time to go home.

“See you tomorrow Jihoon-ah.” One of his co-workers tells him on his way to the elevators, and Jihoon pulls out a bright smile in return as if he still has the same energy and enthusiasm of the morning.

He only really allows himself to bring out what he’s really feeling once the elevator doors close and he’s left alone for the thirty-second ride down from the sixth floor of his office building. He stretches his head from side to side, rubbing the back of his neck for a bit of comfort to shoot out to his nerves. It’s been a really long day, and he can’t wait to just get back home and eat the leftover dumplings in his fridge that Jaehwan made him the other day. Funny how he feels so much more tired from sitting at his desk for nine hours than if he were to go to the gym.

It’s cool tonight. Breezy. He pulls his sweater sleeves down his arm when the wind bites at his skin as he starts walking the way to his bus stop, pulling his phone out to scroll through social media on the way. His timeline is flooded: some big celebrity just made a comeback a few hours ago and a lot of the public are broadcasting their happiness online. Jihoon smiles, reading everyone’s anecdotes and looking at everyone's shared photos.

He ends up getting distracted, as what social media is designed to do these days, so much that the pace of his walk slows just enough for him to turn the corner a few seconds too late. He stops his pace, pockets his phone and breathes out a heavy sigh. He already sees his bus stopping at the little waiting shed which is still a considerable walk away. He’s going to miss it, even if he ran so he just slows his pace even more and walks leisurely. He’s about ten steps away from the stop when he hears another bus coming from behind him and he turns around to look. Bus number twenty five. Jihoon breathes a sigh of relief and silently thanks the heavens for making up for the bus he just missed as he pulls up his arm and starts to hail the—

It zooms past him. Completely ignoring his singlular ass at the bus stop. Jihoon is now looking at the same flashing bus number only from the rear now, and he puts down his hand, defeated.

“Fuck you,” he whispers in contempt, directed at the selfish bus driver who can’t hear him. He sighs, sits down on the waiting bench and pulls out his phone again.

**_Jjaeni-hyung:_ ** _I just got home. You working late?_

**_Jihoon:_ ** _no. i’ll be home soon. just missed my bus._

**_Jihoon:_ ** _twice._

**_Jjaeni-hyung:_ ** _damn. You want me to get your dinner ready?_

**_Jihoon:_ ** _nah it’s fine. go eat first. i’ll see you later._

**_Jjaeni-hyung:_ ** _k. Stay safe._

He puts his phone back in his pocket again, sighing at the red exclamation point marking his battery icon. His stomach rumbles a bit, and Jihoon just continues to stare into space and at the passing vehicles as he waits for the next ride home.

  


Jihoon finally gets down to his stop half an hour later. He’s hungry, grumpy, and there’s still a one kilometer walk from where he is before he even reaches the front door of his apartment. He pulls his head back, cursing at the sky in a quiet breath for a few good seconds before he starts making his way again. He hasn’t even gone two steps yet when he starts to feel something wet and cold travel down the length of his back.

“Fuck!”

He immediately turns around to a group of guys laughing behind him. One of them is holding a half-empty iced tea cup from Starbucks, still laughing with his back turned and stupidly oblivious to what he just did.

“Shit. Niel, your drink,” one of the guys says, pointing at his laughing friend. If Jihoon wasn’t too caught up with the cold, slowly-turning-sticky liquid sliding down his skin, he probably would’ve picked up the name and processed it in his head before he grabs the guy’s arm and yanks to face him.

“Hey! What the fuck is wrong—” The words instantly die in his mouth when the face of the other person registers in his head and he freezes. His mouth hangs open, stuck trying to finish the sentence he started as he stares at dark-blonde hair, small black eyes, and the same open-mouthed expression of shock.

“J-Jihoon?”

The sound of his name in that familiar deep voice is like an arrow to his chest. He can’t think, can’t move, much less process that he’s still gripping the other person’s arm. All he can focus on is the searing sensation he feels on the inside that is turning hisborgans into lead.

“Shit—” Daniel finally has the brains to look at his other hand to where his cup is missing its lid and at the obvious trail of spilled liquid just beneath their feet. “Fuck. Jihoon, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize—”

Funny how the only thing in Jihoon’s mind then is the nagging reminder that he’s heard those words before. It’s enough to snap him back to his senses, to give him control over his body again to let go of Daniel’s arm.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” he says to the ground, right before he turns and starts walking towards the direction of his apartment. He clamps his lips shut and wills his legs to go faster—the street corner is just a few steps away and he’ll be out of the scene in no time—

“Hey.”

His legs betray him, and he curses in his head for the fact how just the mere sound of his voice makes all his bodily functions go still. He feels gross and sticky and cold and he just wants to go home, godammit. Is that too much to ask?

“Umm...sorry, are you headed somewhere?” Daniel asks, hesitating. "I just, umm—wanted to make sure you were okay. I'm really sorry for spilling my drink on you."

"It's fine," Jihoon says, the words so overused, sounding tired and heavy in his tongue. "I'm headed home anyway."

"Oh." Daniel nods, more of an attempt to hide the surprise but it's a futile effort. Jihoon can see right through him. "I didn't know you lived around here. Umm, my place is nearby too."

"I don't live _here_ here. This is just the nearest bus stop. I still have to walk a fair bit." Jihoon quickly explains, finally turning around when he answers. He's a little surprised to find him alone now, but what’s even more surprising though is that he voices that thought aloud. “Don’t you have somewhere to be with your friends?” It comes out a lot colder and snarkier than he intended, but of course, this is Daniel he’s talking to. It doesn’t really matter how his words come out.

“Ah, no. We were all headed home too,” he says with a smile, the image of which stirring something inside Jihoon. “We always go to the gym just a few blocks away from here. You know? The one near the karaoke place?”

“The one across the small shop that sells amazing red bean buns in the morning.” Jihoon nods, and he finds that the smile that forms on his face then is a little impossible to keep hidden.

“Yeah, yeah. That one.” Daniel laughs then, in that familiar airy chuckle he always does for no reason. It’s during this moment that Jihoon finally gets a good look at him for the first time, and then one thing stands out from the rest—suddenly hitting him with so much force that he can’t even stop himself with what he says next.

“You fixed your teeth.”

Jihoon bites his lip in the next millisecond because— _what the fuck?_ That was only supposed to stay in his head. Daniel looks plenty surprised too, slack-jawed and wide eyed before the obvious self-consciousness kicks in and he closes his mouth to hide what Jihoon just so blatantly pointed out.

“I—umm, s-sorry I didn’t mean—” He tries to say, but he can’t think of an explanation. He bows his head low in shame, sighing and mentally kicking himself on the back. He of all people should know how sensitive Daniel is with this topic, and here he is pointing it out with rude clarity.

“It’s okay Jihoon-ah. I know what you meant,” Daniel says comfortingly, and with Jihoon’s eyes staying low, he sees Daniel’s hands twitch up a little as if he’s making a move to touch him—only to stop himself at the last minute by pressing his nails to his palm and forming a fist to his side. “I, umm—I had it fixed for quite a while now, actually. I think it’s been half a year, if not close to that.”

“Oh.” Jihoon looks up, nodding. “Well...it looks good. I mean— _you_ look good. Umm—”

Daniel chuckles at him, and Jihoon can’t help but notice that despite the obvious change, his two front teeth still hangs over his lower lip when he smiles. Huge and eye catching. Familiar.

"You really mean that?" Daniel teases him, his eyes joining the smile party his face is having. "If I remember right, you once told me that you never wanted to see me get this fixed."

Jihoon remembers that too. He shrugs, unable to stop himself. "Yeah well, who am I to stop you now, right?"

It's sick to use same words that have been directed to him by the same person in the past, sick that he feels a little satisfaction from the recognition and guilt flashing on Daniel's features. It's been so long— _way_ too long and yet despite all the time that's passed he's still the same sarcastic cynic who once loved the man in front of him.

_Still_ loves, if he's even being remotely honest.

"I should umm—I should go." Jihoon jerks his thumb back in the direction of his house, excusing himself. He's tired, and this all a little too much for him to handle on a weeknight.

"Y-yeah, of course. Don't let me keep you—I mean—" Daniel stutters, a hand flying to the back of his head out of habit. He's biting his lip, audibly breathing through his nose; signs that tell Jihoon that he's contemplating something and hesitating.

"Umm, listen I-uhh...I wanna make it up to you," Daniel says in a rush, the words practically tripping over his mouth. "For spilling my drink, I mean. I can treat you to dinner. Maybe if you're free some time we can—"

"I have a boyfriend."

That shuts him up. It shuts the both of them up. Jihoon doesn't even know why exactly he flat out lies like that but it's too late to take it back now. He guesses it's an impulse, a sort of defense mechanism maybe from all things Daniel; born of trauma.

"Oh. Umm—yeah, that's cool. I didn't umm...I didn't mean it like that though, just—" Daniel looks down at their feet, dejected. He's losing his confidence, however much he had to begin with. Jihoon thinks that it's kind of...endearing, maybe? How Daniel still goes into all his old habits. Habits Jihoon knows like the back of his hand.

Looks like he's not much different as he thought. Even with his better-looking teeth and his new hair and bulkier physique, he's still the same Daniel. The same guy who smiles like a bunny and laughs at every little thing. The same honesty and humility, the genuineness that's hard to miss. The same person who broke and captured his heart multiple times over.

"Friday," Jihoon whispers, just loud enough to prompt Daniel to look up again. "I'm free on Friday. After work."

It takes a few seconds to process, but he gets the familiar bunny smile back and suddenly everything feels familiar again. A lot of things have changed for the both of them, he feels. Not just on the outside like Daniel's teeth, but also on the inside. Maybe it's one for the better. Things didn't work out for the earlier versions of who they were in the past, so maybe now—with the little changes in between—things could be better

"Okay." Daniel nods, pursing his lips shyly. "Friday. We can meet at the bus stop. Same time?"

"Same time." Jihoon smiles back. It's genuine, and he knows this because it holds even after he's parted ways with Daniel and reaches home much later feeling so much more lighter than he has for the longest time. He's not even going to make excuses in his head anymore when he thinks about how much he can't wait until it's Friday.

**Author's Note:**

> Well this is a bit of a mess. Haha. Sorry, for the total brain fart, but I wrote this in three hours 'cause I REALLY just needed an outlet while I mourn the loss of Daniel's crooked teeth. 
> 
> Yes. I'm this devastated.


End file.
